Criticism over car park season ticket price rise

Plans to increase charges for season ticket holders, but not the day rate for visitors to Northam Burrows car park, have been criticised as unfairly penalising local residents.

Torridge District Council has agreed to increase weekly tickets from £21 to £24 from April and a seven-month season ticket from £60 to £70, while keeping the day rate for the site in Devon at £8 and evening rate at £4.

Councillors were told the changes were needed to protect income, with officers arguing the price still represented "incredibly good value for money".

However, some councillors questioned why the increase was being applied to season ticket holders who were more likely to be locals.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the car park brings in more than £10m a year for the council and accounts for about 44% of its income.

Independent councillor Chris Leather described the car park, next to Westward Ho! beach, as a "money spinner" for the council.

Speaking at a community and resources committee, he asked why local people should face higher costs.

"We make a lot of money out of the Burrows, why jump up the prices for the locals. I really don't think we need to increase the season ticket price," Leather said.

Season ticket costs have been paused since 2023 but prices were now "out of sync" and there was a risk of losing income if the council continued in the same way, said officers.

Lead ranger, Mike Day, said comparisons with other local sites showed Northam Burrows remained significantly cheaper, even after the increase.

Councillors approved the new charges but asked for parking fees to be reviewed later in the year to ensure they remained fair to residents.

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